October 2, 2025

September 30th marks the one year anniversary of when this great adventure for me actually started - when the ship sailed out of Belfast Boatyard.

There were a lot of festivities on Board the ship, on this Sea Day. They started at 10 am with a trivia contest with our COO Mike & CEO Kathy, on Ship and Resident Facts, over the last year. They were playing against each other and Kathy's memory was by far better and luckier in her guesses, than Mike. Then their was a mural painting and numerous cocktail parties of various groups, all coming together at Dinner time, for one giant seating of 350 Residents in the Thistle Restaurant  for a special gala dinner, complete with cake. This was then followed by a fantastic pool party, on the upper deck, with the music again by DJ Shanti. The Residents and CREW all got to party, dance and drink together in a fantastic harmony until Midnight and the party even continued much later for some into the wee hours of morning! It was a FUN day with a great group of people, I so wish you could all experience!

TIOMAN ISLAND, MALAYSIA

By Pat Patrick • July 6, 2026
Fun day in the waters of Tioman Island, Malaysia snorkeling with friends. Life is good! It was nothing fancy, a boat & captain, who spoke minimal English and barely interacted with us, for roughly 7 hours. We started the outing spotting a group of dolphins and was quickly at anchor drop 1 of 6. The distances between the 6 snorkel spots was minimal, which gave us lots of time in the water (at least 45 minutes, at each spot) with an added stop for a lunch break at local restaurants. Even the restaurants were fast and efficient, definitely used to catering to the boat crowd.

HAPPY 4th of JULY from SE ASIA SEA!

By Pat Patrick • July 4, 2026
Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July! Here on the Odyssey we celebrated in the SE Asia Sea on our way to Tioman Island, Malaysia . We have such a talented and dedicated group of residents here, they put together a fun hour of things to celebrate and embrace a lot of what we collectively love about the USA. Even our residents from other countries - Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany , etc. joined in the fun! ( I lent my flag below for decorations)

BINTAN, INDONESIA - BUDDHIST TEMPLE

By Pat Patrick • July 2, 2026
Vihara Avalokiteshvara Graha or Guan Yin Temple is near 500 Lohan, so we also toured the grounds of this large Temple complex. It's dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and is one the tallest brass statues of her in SE Asia. She is just over 55' tall, coated in 22 carat gold and is surrounded by scenic dragon fruit plantations. The tile work is intricate and textured with great details. The whole place is very tranquil and calming for meditation and prayer.